Far Beyond the Stars (episode)
:You may also be looking for the science fiction story "Far Beyond the Stars" by Benny Russell. Experiencing a vision from the Prophets, Sisko sees himself as Benny Russell, a science-fiction writer in the 1950s, who struggles with civil rights and inequality when he writes the story of Captain Benjamin Sisko, a black commander of a futuristic space station. Summary Joseph Sisko, Captain Benjamin Sisko's father, has left Earth for the first time to visit his son on Deep Space 9, but his timing couldn't be worse. Although the Federation is in firm control of the station, the Cardassian border is still a risky place for Federation ships to patrol. In particular, the [[USS Cortéz|USS Cortéz]] has recently been destroyed, and even a six-hour search by the ''Defiant'' failed to discover any survivors. That means Captain Quentin Swofford – a man Sisko knew well – is dead, and Benjamin is distraught. As he discusses the news with his father however, Sisko is distracted and puzzled when he sees a strange man walk past his office dressed in 1950s Earth clothing. Dax, standing right outside in Ops, insists she didn't see anyone, which only makes it a greater puzzle. Later, when walking down a corridor with Kasidy, Sisko is again confused when a baseball player walks past and calls, "Hey, Benny! Catch the game?" Again, Kasidy is sure she didn't see anyone. When Sisko follows the man through a door, he finds himself suddenly in the middle of a busy New York street and is almost immediately hit by a taxi. Doctor Bashir examines him and finds unusual synaptic potentials – his neural patterns look like they did when Sisko was having visions the year before. ( ) When Sisko takes a PADD to examine the data for himself, he finds himself instead looking at a copy of Galaxy at a New York newsstand. What's more, Sisko – or rather, Benny Russell – feels completely at home on this street, and when Albert Macklin comes around the corner they walk off together to the office. The people Benny knows at the office and meets on the street are similar to the people Sisko knows on the station and meets in space. They sound the same, and look at least somewhat similar, but they are not the same people. Albert is not Miles O'Brien, and Kay is not Kira Nerys, but they feel awfully familiar. From this point until Sisko wakes up, the story is told from Benny Russell's perspective (the 1950s setting is the "real" world). When Benny and Albert arrive at Incredible Tales – the science fiction magazine for which they work – they find Herbert Rossoff and Douglas Pabst engaged in "The Battle of the Doughnuts, Round 28" (as Kay Eaton describes it). Kay herself has been experimenting with White Rose Redi-Tea ("A pitcher of plain water becomes a pitcher of ice tea") – a concept her husband, Julius finds appalling. Albert is, as always, looking for matches to light his pipe. When the bickering and general bustle ebbs enough, Roy Ritterhouse comes in bearing a stack of sci-fi sketches to distribute to the pool of writers for the next month's stories. Benny is particularly taken with a drawing of a space station – basically a circle with pylons at 120 degree intervals, and "USAF DS/9" stenciled around the edge. He takes the sketch and offers to create an appropriate story to accompany it. Trouble starts, however, when Pabst announces a picture of the staff will appear in the next issue, and moreover suggests that Kay and Benny "sleep late" the morning it is taken – the public needn't know that women and blacks are writing Incredible Tales along with the white men. Herbert sarcastically quips about the dangers of "a Negro with a typewriter" and Benny is angry, but Pabst holds firm. There will be no picture of Kay and no picture of Benny. As Benny leaves the office that night (Incredible Tales is located in the Arthur Trill building), the space station sketch is caught in a breeze and lands under the shoe of Burt Ryan – a cop with an attitude. He and his partner, Kevin Mulkahey are suspicious of a janitor (as they perceive Benny) dressed in a nice suit, but give back the drawing with "This time you're getting off with a warning. Next time you won't be so lucky." Then as he's almost home he hears a Preacher on a street corner who seems to be speaking directly to Benny. "Write those words, Brother Benny!" the preacher advises – write the words of the "God of the spirits of the prophets." With all these events fresh in his mind, Benny Russell sits down before his typewriter with the space station picture in front of him and begins to write. "Captain Benjamin Sisko sat looking out the window..." Even as he writes the words Benny sees his own reflection in the window – only he has on a curious uniform instead of a shirt and tie and his glasses are gone. He presses on with his story into the night. When the story is finally finished some days later he takes it to Cassie – his girlfriend – at the diner where she waits tables. He also visits with Willie Hawkins, a charming baseball player, and Jimmy, a street kid. Fresh after hearing Willie tell how white people wouldn't want him living in their neighborhoods, Benny hears Jimmy's skepticism about the new story. What's more, Jimmy is trying to pawn a watch he "found" and Benny's cautions about him getting in trouble don't seem to do any good. On the other hand, the entire writing staff of Incredible Tales loves the story, which Benny has titled "Deep Space Nine." In fact, it is the best thing Pabst's secretary (Darlene Kursky) has ever read. Unfortunately, Pabst himself is unwilling to print the story. "It's not believable," he insists, since it features a Negro space station captain for a hero. Jimmy isn't remotely surprised, and Cassie suggests it may be a sign he should stop writing and go into the restaurant business with her – owning and running the diner. When Willie comes in and grabs Benny by the shoulder, he's surprised to see ridges on his forehead and strange clothing. He jumps off the stool in surprise, but when he looks up again it is just Willie, asking if Benny had seen the game. Benny leaves, troubled by the vision. That evening, he encounters the same Preacher again. "Walk with the prophets, brother Benny!" he insists. "Write the words that will lead us out of the darkness and onto the path of righteousness." Benny rushes home and sits down before his typewriter once again, concentrating so hard he even forgets about his date with Cassie. She finds him sleeping with a stack of pages in his hand – a new Ben Sisko story – and tries to get him to relax by taking a "spin around the dance floor" in the living room. He's startled once again when he instead sees himself dancing in a strange room and to hear "Cassie" talking about "the Dominion." He flashes back and forth between his living room and the space station – seeing things from his own story. As Sisko questions his own sanity, Pabst insists he's certifiable – he's written six sequels to the "Deep Space Nine" story Pabst already refused to publish. Albert makes a suggestion that could salvage everything though: make the story (at least the first story) a dream. If a poor Negro were dreaming of such a future, the story might work, Pabst grudgingly admits, and Benny agrees that anything would be better than not publishing the story at all. Even as Benny and Cassie are celebrating getting the story published, however, another tragedy strikes. They encounter the Preacher, who warns, "the path of the Prophets sometimes leads into darkness and pain", just as gunshots ring through the air. Benny rushes forward and finds that Ryan and Mulkahey have shot Jimmy. When he tries to fight his way to him, the two cops begin to beat him up, and Benny sees ridges on Ryan's neck and long thin ears on Mulkahey's face. He's badly beaten and is walking with a cane, but on the day his story is finally published he makes his way to the office anyway (with Cassie's encouragement). The staff are happy to see Benny, this being the first time since his beating. They also reveal that Albert has sold a novel, and Benny is very happy for his friend. Then Douglas arrives back... but with no magazine. Douglas explains that there's going to be no edition of Incredible Tales that month... apparently the publishers felt the issue didn't meet their "usual high standards". Benny, already knowing the truth, asks what the publishers didn't like. The artwork? The layout? But Benny, already starting to break down, answers his own question, the magazine was pulped because the hero is a colored man. Benny tells Pabst that he knows it isn't right, but he furiously defends the decision, saying that "isn't about what's right, it's about what is..." and leads into further bad news. The publishers have decided that Benny's services are no longer required. The rest of the staff recoil in shock, and even the normally unflappable Julius is horrified. Benny tells Pabst that he can't be fired, because he quits before sweeping the contents of a nearby table on the floor in anger as he begins to have a nervous breakdown. He is devastated that everyone is attempting to deny both himself and Ben Sisko, that the publishers are attempting to destroy the story. But he says, sobbing, that they cannot destroy the idea. Ben Sisko, Deep Space Nine, all the people, they exist inside his head, and in heads of everyone who read it. "You can pulp a story, but you cannot destroy an idea! Don't you understand, that's ancient knowledge. You cannot destroy an idea! That future, I created it, and it's real! Don't you understand? It is REAL! I created it and IT'S REAL!" Benny finally collapses, sobbing being cradled by his former fellow workers. As he's carted away in an ambulance, Benny finds the preacher sitting beside him and sees himself in a strange uniform. "Who am I?" he asks quietly. "You're the dreamer," the Preacher answers him, "and the dream." Captain Sisko wakes up in the infirmary with Kasidy, Jake, Joseph, and Bashir standing over him, happy to see him awake. He was unconscious for only a few minutes, and Julian reports that his neural patterns are returning to normal. As his father gets ready to leave, Sisko commits to stay on DS9 and keep fighting. He stares out the window wondering if Benny Russell is really the one doing the dreaming, and sees himself wearing Benny's clothes in his reflection. Memorable Quotes "Wishing never changed a damn thing" : - Benny (Benjamin Sisko) "Oh! She's got a worm in her belly!... oh that's disgusting." : - Darlene (Jadzia Dax) "Calm down dear boy. We're writers, not Vikings." : - Julius Eaton (Julian Bashir; see also I'm a doctor, not a...) "You're the dreamer, and the dream." : - Preacher (Joseph Sisko) "All right, friends and neighbors, let's see what Uncle Roy brought you today." : - Roy (General Martok) "Well I got news for you... today or a hundred years from now don't make a bit of difference – as far as they're concerned, we'll always be niggers." : - Jimmy (Jake Sisko) "If the world's not ready for a woman writer – imagine what would happen if it learned about a Negro with a typewriter – run for the hills! It's the end of civilization!" : - Herbert (Quark) "Herb's been angry ever since the day Joseph Stalin died..." : - Douglas Pabst (Odo) "I like robots." : - Albert (Miles O'Brien) "Call anybody you want, they can't do anything to me, not any more, and nor can any of you. I am a Human being, dammit! You can deny me all you want but you can't deny Ben Sisko – He exists! That future, that space station, all those people – they exist in here! (pointing to his head) In my mind. I created it. And everyone of you knew it, you read it. It's here. (pointing to his head again) Do you hear what I'm telling you? You can pulp a story but you cannot destroy an idea, don't you understand, that's ancient knowledge, you cannot destroy an idea. (becoming hysterical) That future – I created it, and it's real! Don't you understand? It is real. I created it. And it's real! It's REAL! Oh God" (he collapses) : - Benny Russell (Benjamin Sisko) "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith." : - Joseph Sisko, quoting from the Bible (2 Timothy 4:7) "For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere far beyond all those distant stars, Benny Russell is dreaming of us." : - Benjamin Sisko Background Information Star Trek and Science Fiction * Of this episode's relationship with the pioneering science fiction of the 1950s, director Avery Brooks comments, "It presented a page of our history, from a time when science fiction was becoming a part of the mainstream. And when we talk about those writers, we're talking about the reason that we're even here!". (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * According to an interview in Star Trek Monthly #40, the Incredible Tales staff were based on various real-life genre authors, with Albert Macklin, for instance, intended as an homage to Isaac Asimov and K.C. Hunter as a version of . Indeed, Albert's first novel is to be published by , as was Asimov's debut book in 1950, a collection of short stories entitled . * The drawing titled "Honeymoon on Andoris" did not have a title in the original script, but the picture (which depicts a giant praying mantis scaling a skyscraper to find a beautiful woman at the top) is a parody of . The title given it is obviously a reference to Andoria. * When Benny Russell enters the office on the day his story is to be published, Kay and Julius Eaton are discussing their story and Kay suggests the title, "It Came from Outer Space," to which Julius responds positively adding, "I wish I'd thought of it!" This is obviously a reference to the 1953 , which was written by famous sci-fi author Ray Bradbury. * was an actual science fiction digest magazine published from 1950 to 1995, and featured writing from such greats as Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, and Theodore Sturgeon. Star Trek and "Far Beyond the Stars" * During a scene where some of the Incredible Tales staff have an argument, Julius Eaton tells them to be civilized and adds, "We're writers, not Vikings." This is a reference to the infamous "I'm a doctor, not a..." series of quotes perpetuated by Leonard McCoy. * The Galaxy magazine cover art is a matte painting of Starbase 11, which was seen in ''The Original Series'' episode . Additionally "Court Martial" is the featured story in the magazine, and is shown as being written by Samuel Cogley, who was the attorney defending James Kirk in the TOS episode. Similarly, the cover of Astounding Science Fiction, read by K.C. Hunter, features the matte painting of Eminiar VII from . * The cover of the March 1953 edition of Incredible Tales shows the surface of Delta Vega from . It also advertises such stories as "The Cage" (written by E.W. Roddenberry), "The Corbomite Maneuver", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", and "Journey to Babel" (written by D.C. Fontana). * The offices of the Incredible Stories are found in the "Arthur Trill building", an obvious reference to both the Trill species and the real-life . Deep Space Nine in 1953 * Benny is in the office discussing his story when his world and that of Sisko begin to merge. This begins with Darlene Kursky (Jadzia Dax) referring to the woman with a worm in her belly, after which K.C. Hunter momentarily becomes Kira Nerys as she compliments "this Major of yours," and Roy Ritterhouse (Martok) says he wants to sketch the Cardassians in Benny's story. Furthermore, Michael Dorn (Willie Hawkins and Worf), Jeffrey Combs (Kevin Mulkahey and Weyoun), and Marc Alaimo (Burt Ryan and Dukat) all appear for brief moments wearing their usual make-up at various points. * The Benny Russell plot continues in the seventh season episode , although that vision is sent by the Pah-wraiths. Casey Biggs (Damar) appears as Doctor Wykoff at that time. Script * The working title of this episode was "The Cold and Distant Stars", virtually the same working title as was used for . * Marc Scott Zicree's original pitch focused on Jake Sisko, and rather than actually experiencing a vision, he travels through time, back to the 1950s and meets a group of struggling science fiction writers. However, at the end of the episode, it is revealed that he never time-traveled at all; it was all part of a trick played on him by an alien who wanted to find out something about Humanity. Ira Steven Behr didn't like the idea, saying "It felt a little bit like a gimmick. There was no bottom to the story," and he turned it down. However, he liked the 1950s/science fiction writers backdrop and he kept that in mind, and several months later he had the idea to switch the protagonist from Jake to his father, and introduce the theme of racism. In an unusual break in protocol, Behr then pitched his idea to Zicree, and asked him to write a story based upon it. Zicree did this, then Behr took Zicree's story outline, and, along with Hans Beimler, composed the script. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) No makeup * Although Rene Auberjonois, Armin Shimerman and Colm Meaney appear in this episode, their regular characters of Odo, Quark and Miles O'Brien do not. * Despite the fact he made a total of 282 Star Trek appearances, this is the only time that Michael Dorn appears on Star Trek as a Human, although he did appear, without his Klingon makeup, as a Boraalan in , which also featured Penny Johnson. * This is the only ''Deep Space Nine'' episode where Marc Alaimo (Dukat), Armin Shimerman (Quark), and Rene Auberjonois (Odo) appear without make-up. (Rene Auberjonois had appeared as a Human in , and Marc Alaimo had appeared as a Human in ). * Additionally, Aron Eisenberg (Nog), and Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun) appear again without makeup as holosuite guests at the farewell party on Deep Space 9 in late 2375. ( ) * Of appearing sans make-up, Armin Shimerman has commented, "Being out of makeup was slightly off-putting. I've grown accustomed to the Quark mask being a mechanism for support. That face describes who I am as an alien character. And also, while many actors worry about how they look on camera, I don't, because ''my face isn't on camera. So it was bizarre to be bare-faced on a Star Trek show. I never had been before''." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) History and racism * Of the period in which this episode is set, director Avery Brooks comments "The people we saw in that office each had a very specific identity. I wanted to see who those people were, in order to investigate one of the most oppressive times of the twentieth century. They were living with and the atomic bomb and the . I mean, that was a ''very interesting period''." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * Jake's character Jimmy uses the racially charged word "nigger" in this episode, in reference to the fact that black people in his view will never get into space except to shine white people's shoes. This is the first (and only) use of the "N-word" in the Star Trek universe. * This is the only episode in Star Trek history to be directed by the show's leading actor. Usually, when an actor directs, their character has a very small role (such as Brooks' role in , or Rene Auberjonois's role in , or Alexander Siddig's role in etc). In this episode however, Sisko is very much the lead character, but Avery Brooks also directs, and to date, this is the only time this has ever happened. * In terms of why Brooks was chosen to direct this episode, Steve Oster explains, "Ira Steven Behr and I discussed the possibility of Avery directing, knowing that he was going to be in every frame of film. We don't like that combination, because it's very hard to direct yourself. However, this was a story about racism and prejudice and we felt very strongly that it would be wrong if it came from a bunch of people who didn't necessarily know about that experience. We knew that it was imperative to the story and imperative to the integrity of television for it to be done right." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * Of the inherent theme of racism in the episode, Brooks comments, "If we had changed the people's clothes, this story could be about right now. What's insidious about racism is that it is unconscious. Even among these very bright and enlightened characters - a group that includes a woman writer who has to use a man's name to get her work published, and who is married to a brown man with a British accent in 1953 - it's perfectly reasonable to coexist with someone like Pabst. It's in the culture, it's the way people think. So that was the approach we took. I never talked about racism. I just showed how these intelligent people think, and it all came out of them." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) * Armin Shimerman makes a similar comment about the dual existence of racism in the period of the episode and in society of today; "Star Trek'' at its best, deals with social issues, and though you could say, 'Well, that was prejudice in the fifties,' the truth of the matter is, here we are in the twenty-first century, and it's still there, and that's what we have to be reminded by, and that's what that episode does terrifically well''." (Mission Inquiry: Far Beyond the Stars, DS9 Season 6 DVD special features) * Brooks has also commented however that the episode is not exclusively about racism; "The people thought it was about racism, well maybe so, maybe not. This is America, more importantly, and you know, racism is one of the things that we deal with, just like sexism is one of the things that we deal with. I mean, those things are inextricably connected to who we are. And when we start to talk about who we are, we have to face those issues in terms of behavior, in what people do, you know, because color has little to do with it. But the fact of the matter in "Far Beyond the Stars" is that you have a man who essentially was conceiving of something far beyond what people around him had ever imagined, and therefore they thought he was crazy." (Mission Inquiry: Far Beyond the Stars, DS9 Season 6 DVD special features) Reception * Perhaps not unsurprisingly, this episode is Avery Brooks' personal favorite, and was his episode of choice for the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Captain's Log collection. Brooks has also stated, "I'd have to say, it was the most important moment for me in the entire seven years." (Mission Inquiry: Far Beyond the Stars, DS9 Season 6 DVD special features) * Of Avery Brooks' performance in this episode, Jeffrey Combs comments, "Avery was spectacular. There was a scene toward the end where he falls apart with the camera right in front of his nose. It was just riveting." According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, everyone who worked on the episode felt that Brooks gave an Emmy award winning performance, and there was a great deal of disappointment amongst both cast and crew when he wasn't even nominated. * Apart from Brooks himself, this episode is also a favorite of several members of the cast; Armin Shimerman, for example, says, ""Far Beyond the Stars" is without question my favorite episode. It is ''perfect science fiction''." Rene Auberjonois comments, "Brilliant episode. One of the best of the whole series and Avery did a fabulous job of directing it." Michael Dorn says, "It was wonderfully shot. Avery spent a lot of time and effort to make it look like the fifties." Penny Johnson comments, "Anytime anyone can write about that, and it's executed without us having to pull up the same stuff that we see, you know, some things are overdone and overkilled. But this was beautifully handled and beautifully shot. But it still, in the heart, it got me." (Mission Inquiry: Far Beyond the Stars, DS9 Season 6 DVD special features) * When asked to sum up his feelings about this episode, Avery Brooks smiled, and said, "It should have been a two-parter." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Trivia * This episode was novelized in ''Far Beyond the Stars''. * The song playing over the first Benny scene, the argument with the newspaper boy, is " ", written by in 1909, and recorded in 1952 by the vocal group , reaching number one in the pop charts that same year. * The silver item on Herbert Rossoff's desk (which he places in a case as he threatens to quit) is an actual Hugo Award, and was loaned to the production by Rick Sternbach, who had won it for "Best Professional Artist". * A poster outside the Rendezvous Dance Club can be seen advertising "Phineas Tarbolde and the Nightingale Woman". * A memo from Douglas Pabst above Rossoff's desk reads "No one would believe that a cheerleader could kill vampires" - an obvious reference to , a TV show which featured Armin Shimerman in a recurring role. * When Benny is listing famous black writers and their works, he mentions the 1940 novel . Avery Brooks' first acting job after finishing Deep Space Nine was the 1998 film , in which Brooks' character also has a strong affinity for Wright's novel, and introduces it into the school curriculum. * The quote from the Bible at the end of the episode is from 2 Timothy 4:7. The full passage reads, "For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge, will award me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing." Awards * This episode was nominated for three Emmy Awards: Outstanding Art Direction for a Series, Outstanding Costume Design for a Series (Robert Blackman), and Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 6.7, . *As part of the DS9 Season 6 DVD collection. *As Avery Brooks' episode choice in the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Captain's Log collection. Links and References Main Cast *Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko and Benny Russell *Rene Auberjonois as Douglas Pabst *Michael Dorn as Worf and Willie Hawkins *Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax and Darlene Kursky *Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko and Jimmy *Colm Meaney as Albert Macklin *Armin Shimerman as Herbert Rossoff *Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir and Julius Eaton *Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys and Kay Eaton (aka "K.C. Hunter") Guest Stars *Brock Peters as Joseph Sisko and The Preacher *Jeffrey Combs as Kevin Mulkahey *Marc Alaimo as Burt Ryan *J.G. Hertzler as Roy Ritterhouse *Aron Eisenberg as a News Vendor ;And: *Penny Johnson as Kasidy Yates and Cassie References 47; 1953; Amsterdam News; Astounding Science Fiction; baseball; Baldwin, James; Bible; Bradbury, Ray; Cardassia; Cardassians; cent; Christ, Jesus; Cogley, Samuel T.; Communism; ''Cortéz'', USS; "Court Martial"; cruller; "Deep Space Nine"; ''Defiant'', USS; Dominion; doughnut; DuBois, W.E.B.; England; Fascism; flying saucer; frank; From Here to Eternity; Galaxy; Gnome Press; God; H-bomb; Harlem; Heinlein, Robert A.; Hughes, Langston; Hurston, Zora Neale; Incredible Tales; Jackson (Mrs.); Japanese Zero; Jem'Hadar fighter; Lancaster, Burt; Lindbergh, Charles; London; Los Angeles Dodgers; Manhattan; Mars; Martians; "Native Son"; Negro; New York City; New York Giants; New York Globe, The; New York Yankees; Parker, Charlie; Pearl Harbor; pie; pinko; "Please, Take Me With You"; potato salad; Prophets; Puppet Masters, The; red; robot; rocket ship; sauerkraut; science fiction; scrambled eggs; Rendezvous, The; Selected Poems of Langston Hughes; Sisko's; Snider, Duke; squadron; Stalin, Josef; steak and eggs; Stone (publisher); Sturgeon, Theodore; Swofford, Quentin; tater; tea; television; Tri-Borough Pest Control; True Story; typewriter; United Nations; US Navy; Viking; Wells, H.G.; White Rose Redi-Tea; Wright, Richard; Writer's Monthly; Xhosa External link * Review at JammersReviews.com |next= }} Category:DS9 episodes de:Jenseits der Sterne es:Far Beyond the Stars nl:Far Beyond the Stars